Chapter 266 A Familiar Feeling of Ominousness, an Old Friend
There's no need to marry her memorial tablet and spend your whole life with it.
Shen Chu took two steps back, creating some distance between herself and Li Anning, and patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.
"Don't cry, I'm fine, aren't I?"
Li Anning wiped away her tears with her sleeve, grabbed Chen Chu's arm, and looked her up and down.
Are you injured anywhere?
Chen Chu smiled, stretched out his arms to let her look him over, and even spun around in place.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. It was the Sixth Prince who saved me; it was the Sixth Prince who was injured."
Li Anning looked at Pei Yuan, who was standing beside her with his hands behind his back, and solemnly bowed to express his gratitude.
"Thank you very much, Sixth Prince, for saving Lord Shen's life. I, Li Anning... oh, no, our Marquis of Weiwu's mansion will remember this and will definitely repay you when we have the chance."
Pei Yuan's eyes slanted upwards, his expression indifferent.
“I saved Lord Shen, and Lord Shen will repay me in his own way. What does it have to do with you or your Marquis of Weiwu’s mansion? Why should I ask you for thanks, let alone repay you?”
As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Chen Chu with the corner of his eye.
Chen Chu...
Is it really okay to ask for a reward so blatantly?
Before he could speak, Li Anning interjected, "How can it not be related? Young Master Shen is mine..."
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she suddenly stopped.
Pei Yuan frowned. "What?"
Li Anning glanced quickly at Chen Chu, a blush rising on her face.
"Young Master Shen is my savior. Your Highness saved him, which is equivalent to saving me. Of course I must repay him."
She gently bit her lip, then smiled gracefully at Chen Chu.
"Young Master Shen, you must be exhausted after all that running around. Go home and rest first."
"We will never forget those who saved our lives. My father and brothers said they will definitely visit to express their gratitude another day, and our family will certainly present them with a generous gift."
Shen Chu politely declined.
"Besides, Miss Li is straightforward and doesn't fuss over details. Under those circumstances, no one would just stand by and watch such a good girl perish in the fire."
Shen Chu acted according to her own conscience and dared not accept the Marquis's grand gesture.
Li Anning looked at him with a smile through her bright, large eyes.
"Does Lord Shen really think I'm a good girl?"
Shen Chu smiled gently, "Of course."
Li Anning's rosy cheeks were full of smiles.
"In that case, Lord Shen should accept this gift of gratitude. It's settled then, I'll be going now."
After saying that, he waved and left with a smile.
Shen Chu stared at her retreating figure, completely bewildered.
Pei Yuan frowned slightly.
Why did he have this strange, déjà vu feeling?
He raised an eyebrow at Shen Chu, "How do you plan to repay this prince for saving your life? Hmm, Lord Shen?"
Shen Chu twitched the corner of her mouth. "What does Your Highness desire?"
A young eunuch ran out of the palace gate.
"Your Highness, please wait. His Majesty has something to discuss with you."
Pei Yuan felt a pang of regret, gave Chen Chu a deep look, and leaned forward slightly.
"I'll come to you later to repay your kindness."
His voice was deep and resonant, with a hint of a smile, which made Chen Chu's heart skip a beat.
If you want to repay a debt, then repay it. Why are you getting so close?
She took an awkward step back, smiling and waving her hand.
"His Majesty is still waiting for Your Highness, I shall take my leave."
After saying that, he ran off in a flash.
Before I even got home, I was stopped by someone as I passed Rongbaozhai.
"Ah Chu! I'm so glad you're alright."
Someone rushed out of Rongbaozhai and ran over shouting.
His excited expression, outstretched arms, and face that seemed to say, "I want to give you a big hug."
etc.
Shen Chu suddenly raised her hand to shield Li Chengxuan, whose eyes were red with emotion, and asked in astonishment:
What happened to your hair? Did a dog chew it?
Li Chengxuan always wore a jade crown on top of his head, with the rest of his hair hanging down his back.
He said this hairstyle was the only one that matched his unruly personality.
But now the jade crown is gone, and the long hair that used to reach her waist and fall down her back is gone too. In its place is a head of short hair that reaches her ears.
Hmm, it's still a messy, uneven short bob.
It looks like it's been chewed by a dog.
"Huh? You mean this?" Li Chengxuan pointed to his head and casually combed his new hairstyle.
"Oh, don't even mention it. I heard you were in the fire, so I rushed in in a panic, but I couldn't find you and ended up with my hair burned."
It was all burnt, so this was the only way to cut it. My older brother cut it for me himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Heng and Zhou Jun walked out of Rongbaozhai one after the other.
Luo Heng looked at her intently, his eyes filled with excitement, surprise, and a complex mix of emotions that were hard to define.
Are you injured?
Shen Chu shook her head, deeply moved.
"I heard that my elder brother and Chengxuan rushed into the fire to save me. I am very grateful to my two brothers for their timely help in my time of crisis."
Luo Heng smiled slightly.
"We weren't much of a help; Chengxuan suffered the biggest losses."
"Sigh." Li Chengxuan tossed his thick, black, ear-length short hair from side to side.
"You know what, this hairstyle is actually quite cool. This summer will be much better."
Shen Chu couldn't help but laugh at him.
"You really have a big heart. They say that our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. With your hair ruined like this, aren't you afraid that the Grand Princess will scold you?"
“My grandmother would never do that. She only had one request for me: to live and carry on the family line.”
Li Chengxuan waved his hand with a grin, "Achu, you've survived a disaster, we have to celebrate properly tonight."
"Come on, cyclamen, it's my treat tonight!"
Luo Heng nodded in agreement, "We really should celebrate."
Shen Chu insisted, "Celebrating is fine, but I have to treat everyone to a meal to celebrate surviving the ordeal and to thank my brothers for their help."
"Fine, I won't argue with you, let's go."
Li Chengxuan never liked to argue over trivial matters, and he pulled Shen Chu away.
Shen Chu took a few steps, turned around, and called to Zhou Jun, who was still standing there.
"Ah Jun, let's go."
Zhou Jun smiled, his eyes red-rimmed, "You guys go ahead. I suddenly remembered I have an urgent matter at home that needs me to go back."
Shen Chu felt a little regretful.
"Alright, let's get together again another day, brothers."
"good."
Zhou Jun waved his hand, watching the three leave chatting and laughing, a hint of self-reproach and disappointment flashing in his eyes.
When Chengxuan and Brother Luo rushed into the fire to find Achu, he was held back by his mother and watched from the sidelines.
He was too ashamed to go to the dinner with them.
Zhou Jun looked dejected when he suddenly heard voices behind him.
"May I ask, young master, the one you just called 'A-Chu' in purple robes, is he this year's newly appointed top scholar, Lord Shen Chu?"
Zhou Jun turned around and found two young men standing behind him.
The two men, one tall and one thin, were both wearing grayish-brown Taoist robes, their colors almost indistinguishable.
Zhou Jun nodded, "It is indeed the newly appointed top scholar, Shen Chu."
"The eldest son of the Marquis of Changning's family?"
Zhou Jun frowned slightly. "You know A-Chu?"
The tall Taoist priest shook his head with a grin.
"How could we possibly have the honor of meeting the young master of the Marquis's mansion, the newly appointed top scholar? We've only heard of him and wish to see his demeanor."
Zhou Jun said "oh," didn't pay any attention, and turned to leave.
The two tall, thin Taoist priests remained on the ground, staring at each other in bewilderment.
The tall Taoist priest touched his chapped lips and asked the thin Taoist priest, "Look at that top scholar Shen from earlier, why does he look different from when he was raised in the Taoist temple?"
The skinny Taoist priest also looked puzzled. "He's definitely different. He looks somewhat familiar. Where have I seen him before?"
The skinny Taoist scratched his head, then suddenly jumped up and exclaimed in surprise.
"Ah! I remember where I've seen him before."
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